neighbors

15052006

How’s this for cool?

I’ve lived in this house for two years and kind of know my neighbors, but not really. We all just live our own busy lives, I guess. A couple of us have been talking about doing a potluck for the past year, but it just never seems to happen. It’s a working middle-class area: we all have very unpretentious, small, post-WWII military housing style dwellings. There are no Jones’ to keep up with, but even if there were, I doubt anyone around here would care.

Our neighborhood association has recently become active again after many years. It’s pretty exciting for me because I’m all about making connections, especially when I don’t have to lead the effort. (Cue cheezy 80’s music: I feel most comfortable being the wind beneath other people’s wings.)

So, at the first meeting I met a woman that lives (really) just 4 houses away. We talked a bit, but I had to leave. She called recently to talk about setting up a meeting for the social committee. There was something about her that was immediately comfortable.

Tonight, I went over to her house for the first time to talk about plans and get to know her. It turns out that we were born in the same hospital, same year… 3 days apart in a different state from where we both live now! We went to similar schools on the same side of a large city and ran around in the same stompin’ grounds. We both started out poor, but went to college & have made our way. It felt so good to be familiar with a stranger’s background! To maybe not know the details, but to understand and experience where that person started. And she’s so close!

Here’s to connections..and to friendships…to wandering alone…and sometimes, suddenly, not so alone.